As the open persecution against Shia Muslims in Nigeria progresses, the latest casualty has been a young man reportedly killed by members of the police in Funtua, Katsina state. Other ladies were also shot at Funtua during the Ashura Holy procession.

Ashura marks the day Noah got off the ark, it also marks the day God opened the sea for Moses to save him and his followers from Pharaoh and the day Hussein was martyred at Karbala.

The word ‘shia’ simply means ‘follower,’ and occurs in Muslim QuranThere are an estimated 7-10 million Shia Muslims in Nigeria. This large minority is notably peaceful as compared, any other Islamic group by now will have resorted to violence in the midst of continued persecution and brazen denial of justice.

Shia Muslim crowds in Nigeria

While divisions are explicitly banned in Islam, the Middle East and heart of Islam is roughly divided into an equal number of Shia and Sunni Muslims.

Allah(s) Berates Muslims That Even Disbelievers Know How To Stick Together – Mufti Menk In Passionate Sermon

As Muslims are most divided, hunting and killing each other with increased persecution and massacres with public displays and secret burials leading to an embarrassment for Islam across the world, Muslim scholars are calling for unity.

Implicated governor El-Rufai meets Mufti Menk las weekMufti Menk pointed out as he cried that the Quran said as long as Muslims do not tolerate each other there will be chaos (fitna) an corruption as is today with millions of Muslims running to Europe as refugees and wars and massacres from Syria to Libya and to Nigeria.

The Quranic verses:

Quran 8:46 And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute and [thus] lose courage and [then] your strength would depart; and be patient. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.

Quran 8:73 The Unbelievers are protectors, one of another: Unless ye do this, (protect each other), there would be tumult and oppression on earth, and great mischief. (Yusuf Ali)